With two weeks to go until the deadline to submit applications, the RPA is continuing to encourage farmers to apply early to ensure their application is submitted in good time.

The RPA has received over 88% of applications online, as farmers continue to make the switch from paper forms.

Farming Minister George Eustice said:

It is good to see more farmers submitting their applications online, with over 31,000 received so far. Applying online makes it easier to check and update personal and business details, as well as view and transfer land and entitlements.

I would encourage the remaining farmers who have yet to submit their application to do so early and online, so that they can be certain the RPA will receive these ahead of the deadline.

Farmers and land managers need to submit their BPS applications in the next fortnight before midnight on 15 May, in order claim for their single farm payment for 2018.

Help and support for applicants is available through our online guidance, “How to” videos and by telephone. Further information can be found on here.

The RPA are getting a number of calls relating to Rural Payments service passwords.

Advice on resetting your password is available via the YouTube video below.

RPA YouTube channel.

The agenda will include:

• using behavioural science to achieve compliance
• the Industrial Strategy and what it means for regulators
• supporting local priorities with a focus on tourism
• new opportunities for business support
• regional network showcase

The event will take place at Westminster Conference Centre, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET, and will qualify for 5 hours CPD. It is likely to be fully subscribed, so book now to avoid disappointment.

It is suitable for all partners involved in BBfA, and a full agenda will be available closer to the day.

Book here to reserve your free place

Arts Minister Michael Ellis has placed a temporary export bar on An Academy by Lamplight by Joseph Wright to provide an opportunity to keep it in the country.

An Academy by Lamplight is one of the most ambitious and earliest paintings by Joseph Wright and is at risk of being exported from the UK unless a buyer can be found to match the asking price of £7,456,440.

Joseph Wright (1734 – 1797) was one of the most distinctive and gifted British painters of the eighteenth century. Nicknamed the ‘Painter of Light’ for the candle lit scenes he produced early in his career, Wright was a frequent contributor to the exhibitions of the Society of Artists, and to those of the Royal Academy. Wright’s works record the struggles of the development of science against traditional religious values during the age of enlightenment.

Wright’s works are most famous for his exceptional use of the chiaroscuro effect, which emphasises the contrast of light and dark. An Academy in Lamplight was probably completed in 1769 and is generally considered to be the the first of two versions of this subject. The other version of this work is now held at the Yale Centre for British Art in New Haven, USA.

Arts Minister Michael Ellis said:

Wright is one of the most preeminent painters of the Age of Enlightenment. His works help us to better understand the mix of religion and science in this period of huge industrial development. I hope that a buyer can be found to keep this extraordinary painting in the country so that it can be enjoyed by future generations.

The decision to defer the export licence follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA), administered by The Arts Council.

Art Historian and former RCEWA Member Philippa Glanville said:

Educating and enlightening young people was a constant theme in Wright’s paintings; in this vivid depiction of a drawing class, he has captured the varied responses of boys and youths to a female statue, typically bathed in light. Accurate observation and recording was an essential life skill, both for artisans and for privileged children, as these silk-clad youths appear to be. Wright, or his as yet unidentified patron, may have opted for this informal and youthful assemblage, in contrast to the newly formed Royal Academy, with its strict rules and age restrictions.

The RCEWA made its recommendation on the grounds of the paintings outstanding significance for the study of art education and its representation of the early history of the Society of Artists of Great Britain. The technical ability of the painter was also noted.

The decision on the export licence application for the painting will be deferred until 31 July 2018. This may be extended until 31 January 2019 if a serious intention to raise funds to purchase it is made at the recommended price of £7,456,440.

Offers from public bodies for less than the recommended price through the private treaty sale arrangements, where appropriate, may also be considered by Michael Ellis. Such purchases frequently offer substantial financial benefit to a public institution wishing to acquire the item.

Organisations or individuals interested in purchasing the painting should contact the RCEWA on 0845 300 6200.

An image of the painting can be downloaded via our flickr site.

ENDS

For media information contact: Faye Jackson Communications Officer Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Tel: 0207 211 6263 Email: faye.jackson@culture.gov.uk

Notes to editors

1. Details of the painting are as follows: Joseph Wright of Derby, A.R.A. (Derby, 1734-1797) An Academy by Lamplight oil on canvas, 127 x 101.5 cm
2. Provenance: Probably Sir Francis Crossley, 1st Bt of Halifax (1817–1872), Belle Vue, Halifax, West Yorkshire; probably by inheritance to his widow Martha Eliza Crossley (c. 1821–1891), who, following her husband’s death, moved the contents of Belle Vue to Somerleyton Hall, Lowestoft, Suffolk; by descent to her son, Sir Savile Crossley, 2nd Bt and 1st Lord Somerleyton (1857–1935), at Somerleyton Hall; thence by direct descent.
3. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest is an independent body, serviced by The Arts Council, which advises the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object, intended for export, is of national importance under specified criteria.
4. The Arts Council champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. It supports a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. www.artscouncil.org.uk.

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into Croydon Tabernacle (1070276). The inquiry was opened on 14 March 2018.

The charity’s objects include advancing the Christian faith, relieving people who are in conditions of vulnerability or hardship and promoting charitable purposes which might benefit the areas of Surrey, Greater London and other parts of the United Kingdom or the world.

The Commission examined the charity’s financial information and found cause for serious regulatory concern. This included substantial unexplained expenditure and potentially conflicted payments to people connected with the charity. As a result of its concerns, the Commission has frozen a bank account controlled by the charity.

The Commission has been engaging with the charity since November 2016 to examine its concerns; this included a meeting with the charity in February 2017. However the engagement did not resolve the regulatory concerns so a statutory inquiry has been opened.

The inquiry will examine the extent of risks to charity property and whether:

• there has been misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity and/or breaches of trust or non-compliance with charity law
• potential conflicts of interest have been adequately identified or managed
• connected party payments or transactions have been properly authorised

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries by the Commission are available on GOV.UK.

Ends

Notes to editors

1. The Charity Commission is the regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work see the about us page on GOV.UK.
2. Search for charities on our check charity tool.
3. Section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 gives the commission the power to institute inquiries. The opening of an inquiry gives the commission access to a range of investigative, protective and remedial legal powers.

Customer loyalty schemes, such as Tesco Club Card, Boots Advantage Card and Nectar, are popular with shoppers and proven to encourage customer retention and increase sales, yet only 20% of offline retailers have a loyalty scheme.

With 280,000 retailers in the UK generating £300 billion in revenue every year, London-based startup, Fidel, saw an opportunity to rethink the way shoppers can be rewarded for their custom.

Fidel’s goal was to make loyalty and retention marketing simple for both merchants and consumers, and to enable retailers to increase revenues. The company developed a platform that makes it easier for consumers to receive rewards for their purchases. Instead of having to carry different loyalty cards or coupons for each store, they can use their normal debit or credit cards and rewards are allocated automatically at the point of sale.

Turning a vision into global sales

Subrata Dev, Fidel’s founder and CEO, said:

When Fidel applied for the Innovate UK grant, we had little more than a vision. We were operating a customer engagement platform for SMEs and wanted to find a seamless way for customers to collect points and rewards without having to scan cards, key rings or mobile apps.

I’m very excited about the progress we’ve made and where this is heading. The demand has been phenomenal and beyond our expectations. We had so much interest in the platform we were building, before the project had even ended, that we managed to secure further capital from one of the largest venture capital firms in the world, Horizons Ventures.

This additional capital will now help us grow and commercialise the service in UK and internationally.

The platform Fidel created makes it easy for developers to build innovative loyalty applications and services that are linked with payment cards, without having to integrate directly with each payment network (Visa, Mastercard and Amex). Fidel’s mission is to speed up the adoption of ‘card-linked loyalty’ by making the technology more accessible.

Subrata Dev added:

We take care of all the heavy-lifting in the background whilst our partners can focus on building cool products that will ultimately drive transaction volumes and contribute towards the growth of the ecosystem.

A steady increase in customers

Today, the Fidel API is powering several businesses, including Avios (British Airways). Customers will soon be able to earn Avios points automatically while shopping at their local supermarkets, restaurants, airports and coffee shops using any bank card.

Other customers include TopCashBack, Perkbox, Airtime and Percent. Some of the merchants who are already connected to the platform include household names such as Debenhams, Gap, Burger King, House of Fraser, Cafe Nero and Subway.

Fidel has also been invited by Japan’s 3 biggest banks to support the Japanese government’s aim of increasing card usage from 18% to 40% by 2020. By introducing Fidel’s technology platform, the banks hope to encourage more of their customers to take up cashless shopping.

Fidel is expanding the service globally to Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Australia and the US, and has doubled the size of its team since completing the grant project in November 2017.

Providing a secure interface for users

The company has been careful to build in safeguards for consumers. It is PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) level 1 certified. The company handles and transmits all sensitive data via secure bank-level encryption methods.

No personal information, such as a card number, is ever stored. The company cannot monitor transactions without explicit opt-in consent from cardholders and they monitor qualified transactions at participating merchant locations only to fulfil rewards. All data is stored on an anonymised and aggregated basis and the company never analyses or shares this data with third parties.